At the beginning of January, a small delegation of four from the Diocese of Waterford & Lismore were privileged to travel to St Louis for the SEEK24 Conference, organised by FOCUS (the Fellowship of Catholic University Students).
To describe the experience as epic would only be scratching the surface! It was so encouraging to see 22,000 Catholic university students from across America and further afield, including many from Ireland also, and some of the community at Holy Family Mission this year, gather to pray together and celebrate their faith!
With over 400 priests in attendance and approximately 40 Bishops, the celebration of Mass was especially beautiful, as was Adoration and Confessions on Wednesday night.
We were blessed to hear renowned speakers such as Fr Mike Schmitz, Fr Josh Johnson, Scott Hahn, Chris Stefanick, Monsignor James Shea, Sr Mary Grace and many many more.
A really special part of the week was the Making Missionary Disciples Track each morning where those involved in parish and diocesan ministry from across America and other countries heard inputs on practical considerations for parish ministry, reminding us of what really matters when it comes to evangelisation. So much to digest and reflect on in the weeks and months ahead!
It was great too to catch up with Sr Colleen and Sr Sinead from the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and spend time at Cor Jesu School and their convent also.
If you haven’t heard of FOCUS and the incredible work they are doing on college campuses throughout the world, including here in Ireland, make sure to check them out at https://focus.org/
You can also check out the key note talks from the Conference at https://seekreplay.com/
